


Out of the Shadows

by FallenLightVillain



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: M/M, Misgendering, Trans Zuko (Avatar), Transphobia, everyone assumes Zuko is mute, rape is for the guards and some of the Earth Kingdom soldiers, the agni kai happens sooner, the guards and others call Zuko the wrong pronouns, zuko gets his scar early
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:15:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25375270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenLightVillain/pseuds/FallenLightVillain
Summary: The Agni Kai happens when Zuko is ten rather than thirteen and he's placed in a prison. He's announced dead to the Fire Nation and called Li in the prison where he refuses to speak for six years. The guards take a dark liking to Zuko while the other prisoners try and protect him. Until the prison is raided by a mix of Earth Kingdom soldiers and Water Tribe warriors.Zuko decides that his best bet is to break his silence when he gets a moment out of the Earth Kingdom encampment. He just hopes it's worth it.
Comments: 94
Kudos: 485





	1. Chapter 1

Zuko was sprawled in a cooler, having been shoved in quickly in the middle of the guard’s semi-regular attack on him. His throat was raw and sore after so many of them forcing themselves into his throat roughly and his hips were bruised from strong hands. He could feel cum dripping from between his thighs and he closed his eyes as he just lay there in the icy cold. He was bloody and bruised; his lip busted and his nose bleeding as well.

He had heard the racket and seen the guards react as well. Then the alarms sounded. He was pushed unceremoniously onto the ground and his pants yanked back into place as one of them was told to shove him in a cooler for the time being with the words, ‘Even if he can’t bend anymore, he can survive a cooler for a bit.’

He curled up, watching the door so he knew when someone tried to get to him. He listened, hearing something loud and voices yelling.

He curled up a little bit more. He tried to keep himself warm, then he heard the noise get louder. He breathed quietly, staring with a single wide eye. Soon there were loud bangs outside his cooler, tensing up in his ball.

Suddenly he heard the doors starting to open and he scrambled to sit in seiza. He lowered his eyes, not wanting another beating to prove a point. His ribs felt sore, the kicks at his chest and stomach made him shiver. They had made sure he wasn’t able to fight like he would need to try and escape.

“What’s this?” Those weren’t the guard’s voices.

“A cooler, they use them to keep firebenders in line,” Another, gruffer voice said, “Apparently it’s hard for firebenders to use their bending when they’re cold.”

An agreeable noise left the first, then the last door opened.

“... that’s a teenager,” The first voice said, sounding confused.

“Must have done something to get out of line,” The second grunted, “We’ll check if he’s even Fire Nation before anything else. Get up.”

Zuko scrambled to his feet; looking down still and then he heard the same voice snap, “Look at me!”

He lifted his head quickly, staring at him and knowing there were a couple of obvious things to see about him. He was very Fire Nation; his eyes were gold and his skin was pale. The other was that he had a large scar spanning the left side of his face.

He could tell that the men were from different places. One was Earth Kingdom and glaring at him, the other was Water Tribe and seemed more confused.

“Yeah, that’s an ash-maker alright,” The Earth man said, “Gold eyes.”

The other didn’t say anything, but he felt the one reach and yank him forward by the chains on his wrists. Zuko went with them, bare feet leaving the cooler and being dragged along. Zuko walked quickly, trying to keep up. It wasn’t easy though, he had been used more roughly than normal and he usually didn’t have to walk afterward for a bit.

He was dragged through the prison and soon shoved into one of the groups the raiders had made of people in the prison.

Zuko figured out what they were doing quickly. They were separating them by nationality. The Earth prisoners were shoved off to his left, being tended to by some of the raiders who were clearly Earth as well. Then to his right were the few Water prisoners being cared for by their own as well. The guards were already separated from the rest and Zuko was in between the others with the other Fire Nation prisoners. The vast majority. He felt hands pulling him into the crowd. Soon there were wide eyes on him and expressions hoping that he was okay. A couple peeked at the new bruises, trying to help him if they could.

“Not broken,” One of the women said, checking his nose, “And it’s just a split lip… you should be okay soon hun…”

Zuko gave her a look that told her that she didn’t have to lie or avoid the rest of her words. That he’d be fine if they weren’t killed. She just frowned and looked at him. She stood near him and they all glanced at the group in front of them. Zuko could feel the press of the others trying to hide him. The men who had found him were clearly in charge.

Zuko was the prison’s ‘baby’ they called him. He had come in at ten, a small child that the prisoners had taken to quickly. They hadn’t known who he was, no one did except maybe the guards and even then only one or two might still remember. Then they’d realized that he was pretty even scarred and they’d decided he was more fun as the guard’s personal stress relief. Zuko never spoke up about it, knowing better than to think anyone could help him and he was ashamed of what was happening. He’d also seen what happened to the poor man that tried to help him once. Now they just patched him up and took care of him after.

“Bring forward any benders,” It was directed at his group, “I don’t care about the level of competence.”

Soon a few of the others were walking forward and a different hand touched his shoulder as Zuko slowly slipped forward. He couldn’t bend anymore, but… he didn’t want to know what they’d do if he didn’t come forward and they found out.

Soon a small group of them were gathered and looking at the men. Zuko was, like always, settled in the middle. They were trying to defend him, even though it was a risk.

“Less than a dozen,” The Water Tribe man noted, looking over their group, eyes focused on Zuko, “Including the one we found in a cooler.”

“We’re going to make this easy for you,” The Earth one droned, “If you bend, you die. That simple.”

Not a single one of them reacted, just stared at them and suddenly he looked angry, snapping at one of the others.

“Nothing to say to that?!” He growled, getting in the man’s face.

“Not particularly,” He droned back, “We were kind of expecting to be killed anyway. So a chance to live so long as we don’t bend? That’s fine with us.”

There was a wave of agreement, from not only the rest of the benders but the non-benders. No one mentioned the rather quiet fact that maybe only one or two of the benders might even be able to make sparks anymore. If they were one of the lucky ones. Zuko was never lucky.

The man paused, staring at the dead eyes of the prisoners. He growled, eyes focusing on Zuko. Ah, there was his terrible luck. He looked up at him as he was singled out. One of the others was tight at his shoulder and tense.

“You, who are you?” Zuko didn’t speak, knowing what would happen already.

“Kid’s mute,” One of the others said, “His name’s Li though.”

They had assumed he was mute, though it wasn’t true. After nearly six years of silence, it was an easy mistake to make. Zuko never told them they were wrong, so he just stared and blinked slowly at the man.

“He’s a bender?” He looked at the guy who’d spoken for him, Miro.

“Yeah, used to spark up all the time, not anymore though,” Miro admitted, “Don’t think I’ve seen him even try in a long time.”

“How long?” The Water Tribe man asked, seeming to notice something about the way Miro had spoken.

Suddenly every Fire Nation prisoner was nervous and grumbling. They were looking at each other.

“Chief Hakoda asked you a question,” The Earth guy said, looking at them with hard eyes, “Someone better answer.”

“Listen,” Seni’s soft voice came through, she stepped out of the crowd. She took care of him a lot, “Not a lot of us have been around as long as Li. I’m one of the few.”

“So what’s the answer?!” The man’s temper was a problem clearly.

“Guono,” The chief said, looking at him and then at Seni, “Why are you acting like this?”

“Li’s been here for six years or so now, he got here when he was about ten,” She said, looking at him, already expecting the reaction.

“You expect us to believe that shit!” Guono clearly thought she was either insane or a liar, “Ten-year-olds don’t get thrown into maximum-security prisons!”

“Believe me or not, but that’s the truth,” Seni shrugged a little at him.

The man glared at Zuko and he just stared back at him. Pretty much all of the older prisoners had lost their fear a long time ago. Zuko had long since lost his innocence as well. He wasn’t the small pampered prince from back then. He didn’t doubt that they’d kill him for a moment. He was just another body that was on the enemy’s side.

They quickly gave up and the group was reformed, Zuko being pulled deep. Soon the other prisoners were being moved along and when they made it to the soldier’s camp, they were being separated between the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom camps.

Zuko wasn’t surprised that he was quickly separated into the Earth camp.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for mild descriptions of rape and misgendering in this chapter.

Zuko was curled up, in the back of the small space that the Earth Kingdom was holding it’s part of the Fire Nation prisoners. He was even more bruised and beaten up than he had been in prison. He hid his face a little, his manacles now much tighter on his wrists. They’d seemed intent on getting him to talk, but so far Zuko had remained silent. Tight manacles, punches, whips, even knives didn’t scare him enough to break his silence.

They’d also quickly figured out what the guards liked him for. Some of the soldiers on the side of the camp he was being held on took him whenever they liked. They had also taken up the degrading terms that the guards had once used for him. Their voices were hushed though, clearly not wanting to be discovered.

He didn’t say anything though. He didn’t argue, he didn’t fight, he didn’t do anything. If they wanted him on his knees and gagging on their cocks he did. If they wanted to rape his ass and cunt he took it in silence. He let them call him a girl and every other term they wanted to use. He went back to the few other surviving Fire Nation prisoners that they’d kept with him. They took care of him, as best they could.

They knew what was happening, but there was a difference now. Their lives were on the line if they did something. So Zuko encouraged their silence. Knowing what happened just once in the prison was enough for him to not want something to happen here.

So he put up with it in silence.

Then there was a change one day. He was dragged out and walked to the other side of the camp. He looked at the blue-clad people, then focused resolutely forward. He was likely going to be interrogated by the other man now. Chief Hakoda, his mind supplied.

As he was stopped in front of a tent, the man behind him calling out, “We’ve got him.”

Soon he was in and Hakoda motioned the man out, “Sit.”

Zuko was weighing an option he’d considered, staring at the man as he got into seiza, kneeling there and watching him carefully. He hadn’t thought he’d have a chance, but here he was. He looked at the man and licked at his lips as he considered the same thing he’d thought a dozen times.

“Now, Guono says you won’t do anything to answer questions Li,” Hakoda sounded annoyed and looked serious, “We can’t have another mouth to feed if you won’t even answer questions.”

“Hakoda,” Another man sighed, “He’s mute. This is useless.”

“I’m… not… mute…” Zuko’s voice was barely a rough rasp at this point.

Immediately two pairs of eyes were on him, the chief speaking to him, “Then why not speak?”

“Silence is…” Zuko searched for the word, “Safer.”

“Being silent in the middle of us is safer?” The other man asked a brow raising.

“Bato,” The other said, clearly calming him, “Li… why were you in that prison?”

“I spoke out against the Fire Lord’s war plans,” Zuko said, “I was imprisoned for it.”

He felt like his throat was being ripped apart, he hadn’t spoken in so long that his voice was quiet and he was trying to speak more than just a few words. Which made him wonder if he was even mostly understandable.

“I wouldn’t put it past that man to imprison a teenager for saying something against his plans,” Hakoda mused, but was watching him, “But… that woman said you were thrown in at about ten.”

“I was,” Zuko admitted.

“I’m going to need more than that kid,” Hakoda said and even Zuko could see that his temper was growing short with Zuko’s lack of information.

“My name isn’t Li…” He could see the look on both warrior’s faces, “They called me that… because they didn’t want to cause more problems…”

“What sort of name could cause such problems?” Hakoda was clearly getting at least aggravated.

“Zuko,” He managed, his own name feeling almost wrong.

He hadn’t heard it spoken aloud in a long time. He was sure that most people believed him long dead by now. He had been missing for six years and his father had likely told people he died not long after his disappearance.

“... I need to talk with Bato,” He turned to him and watched as another warrior was called in to lead him back to the others.

Zuko went to his quiet corner and for the first time in years, he thought about his family. No one had likely been told what really happened to him. What lie would have been easy to tell them? An assassin maybe? Even though he was only fourth in line, it was believable. At least, he had been. He’d heard about his father’s rise to the throne. His sister was now first in line for the throne.

His sister… Azula. He hadn’t thought about her in a while. He didn’t know what happened to anyone, but he assumed she was alive. He didn’t know about uncle though. He had been first in line… had he been killed? Lu Ten too? Had they just died at Ba Sing Se? What was his mother doing? The only thing he knew for certain was that his grandfather had died.

Zuko closed his eyes, curled up and he waited for someone to come and fetch him for him to talk to Hakoda again, to go and be interrogated by the Earth Kingdom again, or for someone with… other interests to grab him.

He waited for a while before he heard a loud commotion and Zuko was dragged out with the others. The remaining Fire Nation prisoners were far less than he’d thought. Seni was there. Miro wasn’t. He looked at her and then they all focused on the Chief and Guono.

“I’ve got a couple of questions for you all,” Hakoda said, staring at the group, “Who here was the last one jailed?”

Slowly another woman spoke up, Zuko thought her name was Ayosa, “I was, just over a month ago.”

“Good,” Hakoda said, “I want you to answer some questions about the last things you knew about the Fire Nation… including some older things.”

She just stared, nodding a little and the rest held their tongues. No one wanted attention on them. So they just listened.

“There were only rumors that reached us,” He told her, “But a while back it was claimed that something happened to your crown princess.”

Zuko managed to keep his expression blank, his breath barely catching. He could see Ayosa get a strange look on her face.

“Oh… that day…” She sounded upset, “No one knows what happened exactly… but she was declared dead when she was ten. The most likely cause was an assassin. There were rumors though…”

Hakoda raised a brow and Guono glared, “Rumors of what?”

“That the princess had snuck her way into the war room… and she said something during the meeting that angered her father,” She looked nervous, “That her father lost his temper and killed her after they left the war room…”

Hakoda stared at her, which prompted her to speak again, “I have no idea what’s true since she was so young hardly anyone had seen her outside her family that wasn’t a noble or high ranking officer of some sort. I just know her death wasn’t really… talked about.”

Which was suspicious Zuko admitted, there was no reason not to publicly announce that an assassin had gotten to him. It would have just been a tragedy. He wondered what he told his mother to explain his sudden disappearance. Actually, what he told anyone.

“What’s the last thing you knew about the Fire Nation’s movements?”

The questions stayed on stuff like that. Pretty much all of them were willing to give  _ some _ information. Though they all seemed wary. Just because they were the ones still alive, didn’t mean that they’d stay that way.

Soon the Earth Kingdom started to get annoyed with the vague answers they were being given. Zuko didn’t doubt that some of them wouldn’t live to see the next day. Hakoda glanced at him with a frown, but Zuko just glanced at him. He wondered if he was going to be able to get over to their side of the camp or if Hakoda thought that his small amount of information was worth nothing. If Zuko even knew anything particularly interesting or useful.

Soon Zuko was being dragged back into the camp and was separated from the others again. He let himself be dragged along with no effort. He was trying to survive and he knew that staying still and quiet would cause him fewer troubles.

Soon one of the soldiers had their hands on his hips and another was grabbing his jaw. Zuko went mostly limp, trying to zone out. His clothes were pulled away from him and he just tried to not so much as twitch. They were rough, probably rougher than the guards. Zuko felt himself gag as one of them slammed straight into his throat and he managed to keep himself from whining. He squeezed his eyes shut and just took it.

Hopefully, it would be over soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for mentions of rape and violence.

Zuko woke to a lot of arguing. He couldn’t tell what it was about, but he tried to listen. Soon he heard shuffling near the entrance to his prison and blinked as he realized he was alone. He’d fallen asleep with at least a few other prisoners. Now Zuko was completely alone. He took a breath, sitting up and looking around. He kept himself calm, looking at the entrance and shifting in place to sit there after flinching. He wondered idly if they were trying to make it near impossible for him to move afterward to lower his chances of running.

Not that Zuko would even know where to run to. He had seen almost nothing outside the palace and now he was somewhere in the Earth Kingdom. Zuko didn’t do anything else, just slowly sat down and closed his eyes. He crossed his hands in his lap and shifted so his face had the light shining on it. He took a breath in and let it out. He could feel his chi stirring in the light and his breathing exercises made it easier. His chi was coming back and his inner flame was little more than embers at this point.

If he could feed the flames though, he might be able to bend again. He wouldn’t dare light more than a small flame without a reminder of the katas. He could remember a couple of things, but nothing big. Probably not even enough to defend himself.

He knew that he could just do this until someone came in. Zuko let the pool of chi grow, breathing softly. He finally heard something from the entrance again, eyes slowly opening to look at the man walking in.

He was in Water Tribe blue and he smiled at him. He carefully paused in front of him and waited until Zuko had risen to his feet.

“You’ll be leaving with us,” Somehow Zuko knew that’s what there had been yelling about before, “The Chief insisted on the healer checking up on you once we get on the boat.”

Zuko’s mind supplied that it was to get him out of the camp quickly. He just shrugged and nodded. He was quick to walk to the other and found a hand settle on his shoulder to steer him towards the water outside of the tents. Zuko glanced at the beach, eyes traveling along with it for a moment.

Zuko didn’t say anything about the wooden boats, wondering if the man had even remembered that Zuko had admitted to being a firebender. He could control flames and probably put them out before anything bad happened if he was pushed, but he’d rather not test that. There was the risk that his small amount of chi wouldn’t even let him make a candle’s flame flicker.

Zuko got on the boat though, pulling himself up onto it alone. Even in pain, Zuko knew he was strong. Prisoners didn’t just sit around, so Zuko was all muscle and could do just fine on his own. It was probably why so few people realized at first. Zuko was still small, but he was strong enough that he had managed to win in fights with a few of the newer prisoners who saw him as an easy target. Even the older prisoners who didn’t like him weren’t the type to attack him out of nowhere. They simply knew that Zuko was a fighter when he needed to be and submitted when it was smarter.

It was often smarter to submit and not cause problems. He looked at the boat, realizing he was the last person on board. They had made it easy to leave with him at a second’s notice. They had made sure that they couldn’t be stopped. They had really made their decision and the moment they got him, they’d made it impossible for the Earth Kingdom soldiers to change their mind.

“This way kid,” The young warrior said, guiding him into the ship and Zuko went with him.

Zuko was limping, but he ignored it. The warrior had glanced at him when he’d noticed and Zuko had reacted like he always reacted to strange looks he got. He just tilted his head and blinked at him in question.

The warrior suddenly looked flustered and paused outside a room to knock and there was a calm answer for them to come in.

Zuko stepped in with the warrior and he glanced at the chief, “Ah, you brought him. Good, you can go now.”

Zuko was motioned to the seat in front of him, sitting down at the edge and watching the man.

While Zuko might trust the Water Tribe chief more than the Earth Kingdom men, he was still careful. He didn’t know what they thought of him at all.

“Zuko,” Hakoda said carefully, “Was the name of the firstborn daughter of Fire Lord Ozai. Who died just days before Azulon was found dead. Strangely, there was no report of a body found. Just a funeral fit for her station.”

Zuko watched him, gold eyes surprisingly wide. He was watching his reactions he realized. With Bato - Zuko was pretty sure that was the other man’s name - in the room and frowning.

“The thing I find strange,” Hakoda said, “Is if the suspicions are right and it was the same assassin that killed both the princess and the Fire Lord… why choose her? She was fourth in line for the crown. Her uncle and cousin were returning from Ba Sing Se. There were better targets that would make more of an impact.”

“It wasn’t a smart move,” Zuko agreed to the ‘truth’ he was speaking.

Zuko internally rejoiced that both his uncle and cousin had returned from the war.

“I looked into it,” Hakoda said, “While brown, black, and even amber or tawny colored eyes are common among anyone born in the Fire Nation. Only the royal family has gold. Not even the princess’s own mother had eyes that were true ‘gold’.”

The purposeful way Hakoda meets his eyes tells him that he’d seen how bright his eyes were. At least in color.

“That’s true,” He agreed again.

“So now I have an impossibility sitting in front of me,” He sighed, “So the question is… which story is true?”

“Do you remember that story about me sneaking into the war room?” He asked Hakoda, watching him raise a brow and nod, “True, besides me dying.”

He stared at him, “Hence why you were called Li. A common name. Just another prisoner. Not a missing, assumed dead royal.”

Zuko just nodded again and Hakoda shook his head, glancing at Bato. He looked back at Zuko and just took a moment, “We need to discuss things about this, Kidu - who brought you here - is waiting outside to take you to the healer.”

Zuko nodded and was quick to leave. The warrior was indeed waiting for him. He guided him to a different part of the ship and when he stepped into the healer’s cabin, Zuko was hit with the heavy smell of ointments. It reminded him of vague memories of having his face patched up. He quickly decided he wanted to be in this room as little as possible.

“So you’re who I need to look over?” The older man was quick to sigh and motion him over, “Sit.”

When he sat the man was quick to start checking him for injuries. Zuko was sure there was plenty that the man would poke at, so he didn’t complain. When his shirt came off the man grumbled for a moment then paused. He started to clean up the cuts and bruises on his torso.

“This might take a while,” He said calmly.

“Okay,” He agreed, looking at where he was cleaning a burn one of the guards had left on him the day of the raid.

When he was done the man had a dark look on his face, but he pointed towards a cot at the side of the room.

“You’ll be staying in here with me until you’re healed,” Zuko sighed, but went and sat on the cot silently, “I’ll see if any of the boys can pick locks. Might as well get those off and clean up any raw wounds that they’ve caused.”

~~~~~~~~~

When Tikor suddenly came into the cabin where he and Bato were discussing the prince - Zuko had presented purely male and it felt strange to say anything else - and what to do with him. The man seemed to be particularly angry.

“Did he do something?” It was obvious that he was talking about Zuko.

“Besides sit there and get patched up peacefully?” Tikor grumbled, “No, it’s what was done  _ to _ him. I’d say for the entirety of his stay in that prison and while those Earth Kingdom ‘soldiers’,” The way he said that had Hakoda not liking where this was going, “Had him.”

“And what did they do?” He said.

“At sixteen that child has more scars on him than any other I’ve seen,” It seemed to be time to just sit quietly and let the healer rant. “Burn scars besides the one on his face - though none worse - all over him. It looks like they whipped him. Clearly he’s been beaten more than once.”

Just that alone didn’t sit well Hakoda and Bato was frowning a little but remained serious, he could tell he wasn’t done, “That’s not all.”

“He’s been raped repeatedly,” Hakoda went stiff, “Sometime rather recently too. My guess is some of the soldiers found out about him and used that to their advantage. Like I said before… it’s probably been happening since he entered that prison.”

Hakoda froze completely, staring at him, “He’s also underweight, but that’s not the real issue.”

“No, it’s not,” Hakoda agreed.

It was now clear why the boy was so meek and quiet. He had no reason to cause problems, but he also knew what the consequences that he’d receive were. He didn’t like it. Especially since he’d backed the knowledge that he’d been there since he was ten. A young child in that situation made him sick.

“He’ll be safe here,” Hakoda assure him, watching him frown.

“Well, I need to keep an eye on him for a few days at least. He probably shouldn’t have even been walking in his condition.”

“He’s sleeping in your cabin?” He said, looking at him.

“Yes,” He said, without anymore question and leaving the cabin.

“... well, I can’t say I feel bad about any of the guards getting killed now,” Hakoda said dryly to Bato.

He sighed but looked understanding, “It’s too dangerous to keep him on board.”

“He was injured by his father and the prison. It would be dangerous to return him to either,” Hakoda tried.

“He has an uncle, mother, cousin, and sister who we could return him to as well,” Bato edged, “The Dragon of the West and his son aren’t even in the Fire Nation right now. Knowing that he’s alive and injured from Ozai might sway them from returning with him.”

“How do you know none of them would agree with Ozai’s reasoning?” He hedged again.

“If they would have sided with him, they’d know the truth. So we find out who he lied to,” Bato suggested, “Though that might be tough.”

“... there were servants in the castle,” He mumbled, “And servants talk. The people likely know who mourned the death of their princess… and who didn’t.”

“So we ask the Fire Nation?” Bato said, looking at him.

“We start asking as many as we can,” He said, “Some might claim Ozai himself mourned.”

“Well then that would be a lie,” Bato was snorting at that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have officially decided that Lu Ten has not died in this universe. He just came home to a dead cousin, a mourning aunt, and a newly crowned douchebag of an uncle. He's not bitter at all and on a boat with his father so he doesn't have to be near Ozai.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hakoda wonders just what this boy had been doing to be as strange as he is and Zuko doesn't know that the crew thinks he's strange.

Zuko woke to the sound of metal clicking softly. He opened his eyes to a different warrior kneeling and carefully trying to pick the lock on his manacles. He didn’t bother to move, eyes barely slit open to watch the other work for several slow minutes until the first one came free. He pulled that hand back towards his chest and he found his eyes meeting the warriors.

“Other hand,” The man said; voice calm and Zuko offered it to let him begin picking the lock.

He kept still and laid there quietly while the other continued to carefully pick the lock so that the manacles fell to the floor. The process repeated with Zuko sitting up to let him manage to unlock the ones around his ankles and Zuko watched him stand up.

He gave Zuko a look, which didn’t make sense to him. He wasn’t looking at him like the soldiers and guards always did. At least not usually did. Sometimes, after a particularly nasty fight he was in, he might get something similar. The fights he won against much larger opponents even more so and… oh.

The man was wary. He didn’t know how dangerous Zuko might be. He didn’t know enough to say he was more or less dangerous than the firebenders they fought. He didn’t say anything too it, just bowed slightly in his direction.

The man left, leaving Zuko to shift and get comfortable in the cot again, dozing off.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hakoda sighed; head in his hands and trying to think through the information he’d gotten over the past few weeks at sea. Zuko, once allowed out of Tikor’s cabin for more than a few minutes at a time, was quick and eager to help on the ship. At least, he  _ seemed _ eager. It might have just been that he couldn’t hold still, but it was hard to tell.

He was also absurdly strong for his small frame. He was often found carrying something that by looking at him he shouldn’t  _ logically _ be able to move, much less lift. Then again, logic seemed to play almost no part in anything to do with how Zuko worked. He didn’t get cold easily no matter how cold it was outside. He spent almost all his time in the sun, but his skin stayed pale though he looked less sickly. He moved with a certain grace that was frankly  _ unnerving _ . He had found his balance quickly on the ship. He also seemed to  _ hate _ being confined to the healer’s cabin. He favored his left side, but that was the part that made the most sense.

Then again sometimes Hakoda found him in the masts and no one could give a decent explanation as to how he got up there in the first place.

Some of the crew found him frankly almost scary. He wasn’t the type to talk a lot, though he now seemed less scared to speak up if he needed to. He also seemed almost emotionless, staring blankly at the others when they spoke to him.

Then there was the information they were accumulating. Asking about the Fire Nation’s royal family was risky at first glance, but then they found out that the people liked to talk about them a lot.

Lady Ursa; Ozai’s wife and Zuko’s mother had died a few months after Zuko’s own supposed death, but she had mourned deeply and completely.

Fire Lord Ozai himself was the perfect picture of a grieving son, father, and husband, but people claimed behind closed doors he seemed smug. That it was like the other three had never existed.

Princess Azula; Zuko’s younger sister seemed to completely back her father in the war effort. Often sent out on missions and completely merciless. She  _ did _ seem to have mourned her sister’s sudden death though. It was hard to tell, but those that spent the most time around her could tell. She had mourned privately, even at eight. Then acted like nothing was different, but people said she got a little quieter around the anniversary. A little calmer. Only for her sister though, not her grandfather or mother. Just for Zuko.

General Iroh had mourned deeply, along with his son Lu Ten. They had come back to not only Azulon’s death but Zuko’s as well. They had then watched Ursa die not long after. Ozai was on the throne and now they were in the castle with so many bad memories. In the end, both had left the palace and gotten on a boat.

They weren’t necessarily part of the war anymore, but they were far from defenseless. They were known to be quiet and reserved when people found them but otherwise keeping their noses out of other people’s business.

So they would be the only ones that they could contact about Zuko. Asking a fourteen-year-old girl to protect her older brother from their father wasn’t fair and they weren’t even sure how she’d react.

If the rumors of the General’s reaction to the news of not only his father’s but his niece’s death were anything to go by, he’d be more than willing to take in the boy. It was said Iroh had been enraged, blamed Ozai for not protecting his family. That he had said things that no one dared repeat. Had attacked Ozai in his grief-filled rage. He would gladly take back a supposedly dead member of his family.

That was if he could be convinced it was Zuko and not an imposter trying to cause more trouble. He would have to take him directly to them and if they were by some chance wrong, that this wasn’t Zuko and just someone telling an elaborate lie… if he had the wrong person, he didn’t doubt that the Dragon of the West would live up to his reputation.

Hakoda believed Zuko though, something about him told the man that he was telling the truth. It was hard to think of him spending six years in jail only to lie about something like that. Because Hakoda doubted that the kid would get off easy if he was lying about who he was. He breathed quietly out and looked up at Bato.

“So our only actual viable option is to somehow… contact the Dragon of the West, convince him we  _ do _ have Zuko and hope that he’d take him in,” Hakoda said, listing out their potential options, “ _ However _ , no one has heard where he or his son has been in months. So there is no way to even attempt to contact him.”

Bato was frowning, the tense look on his face telling him he understood as well. They couldn’t return him to the Earth Kingdom. Not after what Tikor had told them about what some of the soldiers had done to the boy. It would be like throwing him back into the prison that he’d been placed in after he’d spoken against his father.

“You do realize that he’s not Sokka” Bato’s voice cut through his thoughts, causing Hakoda too look up at him, “Or Katara, right?”

“Of  _ course _ I know he’s not-” Hakoda took a breath as he stared at his second in command and friend, “What are you trying to say Bato?”

“I’m saying that we need to be careful,” He said, careful not to say things wrong Hakoda was sure, “We don’t know what will happen on a normal day. Much less if somehow the Fire Lord hears even a rumor of us having Zuko.”

He closed his eyes and realized why Bato was so worried. If they were found to be harboring a supposed long-dead royal there were two options.

First; Ozai would send sips out to destroy their fleet and kill everyone. including Zuko, to keep the secret of what happened.

Second; Ozai could claim that they somehow kidnapped Zuko six years before and they were going to mount a rescue. Which would involve the death of everyone  _ except _ Zuko… most likely. Then the boy being dragged back to the palace.

“I know,” He muttered, turning to look back down at all the written statements of the royal family that they’d collected.

~~~~~~~~~~

Zuko’s refusal to go into the healer’s cabin seemed to be a point of contention among the crew. If he got scrapes or bruises, he just kept going and he refused to explain  _ why _ he didn’t want to go in. It was annoying the crew, but Zuko hated being trapped in there. The smell of salves and ointments brought back the burning feeling in his eye.

The crew did however find his need to be in the sun normal. At least until they didn’t.

Was there  _ anything _ that the crew wouldn’t find strange about him? After all, he’d heard a couple of comments that he was used to and simply shrugged them off. The majority of the crew followed Chief Hakoda, Bato, and the healer’s direction and referred to him as a boy.

Which was relieving for several reasons. Though the healer still helped him with other problems that he wished he could avoid. It was tolerable with help though.

The crew still called him Li, the chief not quite avoiding telling them who he was, but maybe being cautions.

He also worked on the ship. Years of working in the prison had him strong and not used to spending his time still. It had been a fight to get out of the healer’s cabin at all and now he was going to help. Though it did seem to cause murmurs when he moved certain things despite someone saying it needed to be moved. He didn’t  _ get _ it.

He understood a little more why they didn’t like him randomly climbing the mast. Though Hakoda just usually stared at him until he came back down. Though he never asked how Zuko got up there or  _ what _ he was doing up there.

Zuko was at least fond of Hakoda. Though the man was acting even stranger than normal now.

“We’ll be making camp on the shore soon,” He told the crew one night, Zuko sitting on the far end of the boat.

He was meditating, breathing slowly when he heard a murmur. His eyes opened to find the lanterns closest to him were wavering with his breath. He let out a low breath, watching them flutter again as he stopped, carefully pulling his consciousness from the fire. The last thing he needed was the crew finding him even stranger.

“Prepare to bring everything off the boats, we’ve got plans to make,” He glanced at Hakoda, who just glanced at him with the same wary look as the others.

Zuko really didn’t understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. Iroh fucking lost it on Ozai when he got back to find out that not only had his father died, but also Zuko. He outright attacked the other man. Ursa died from distress only a couple months after Zuko's supposed death.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Water Tribe makes camp and Zuko gets some time to recuperate. Tikor worries too much, Hakoda is both angry and annoyed, and Sokka finds them. Sokka sees Zuko and has thoughts.

Watching the Water Tribe make camp was interesting. He helped them do whatever he could, carefully avoiding places where the warriors were still giving him strange looks. He didn’t know why, but he was now taking to keeping out of sight of as many of them as he could. He looked at the camp and went to go and sit down. He moved to the tree line, climbing one of them to watch the way the camp worked.

Zuko leaned into the curve of the branch, eyes following the warriors’ movement. Once the camp was set the men started to do other work. He watched them for a bit until he found himself staring out at the waves.

He wondered what was happening back in the Fire Nation.

Azula was probably still training hard, her firebending growing at an exponential rate. Always perfect at everything she tried to do. She had trained so hard for her power, her talent fueling it. Ty Lee and Mai might be with her still, going to the palace often and spending their off time in the palace. Mai as quiet as she ever was and Ty Lee filled the silence without question. Azula dragged them into whatever she was doing.

His mother was probably still taking care of the gardens where she spent most of her time. They’d spent so much time there together, sitting by the pond with the turtleducks. It was something that both of them spent a good portion of their days doing.

Zuko thoughtlessly lifted his hand to trace the outer edges of his scar when he thought of his father. Even though Zuko knew that he was far from his father’s favorite, it had still been a shock. Being hit wasn’t unusual and small burns were the norm for him, especially during practice. He forced himself to remain calm and shove the memories down quickly. Shaking his head a little as he forced his thoughts on.

His uncle… was probably still a general or advisor. Doing what he did every day. He probably found people to play pai sho and sit with him while he had tea. That’s how his uncle always was and it was hard to imagine that the man had changed much, even six years later.

Lu Ten… Zuko smiled at the thought of his cousin. He had missed him, the way that even though he was considerably older than Zuko, they’d always been close. It had been like having an older brother. He didn’t know what he was doing now, but he was probably with uncle a lot.

He missed them, knowing that he’d see them or get letters at the very least. It was hard to imagine that they thought he was dead, but… they did. He closed his eyes; taking a breath and trying to think of what to do next.

~~~~~~~~~~

As it turns out, finding the Dragon of the West was as hard as one would expect. When he and his son had gotten on a ship and disappeared with a small crew, Hakoda hadn’t thought that meant that they had  _ disappeared _ .

It was far easier for a member of the Fire Nation royal family to disappear than you’d think. As far as he could tell the two of them had only been seen for short bursts of time over the past six years. It was so hard to find any sort of pattern to where they were going. They were everywhere and nowhere.

Hakoda was angry too. From what he could tell Zuko had been assumed dead immediately after his disappearance. Which was  _ not _ normal no matter where you were from. Zuko disappeared, Azulon died, and Zuko’s supposed ‘death’ had all happened within a few hours from what he could gather.

When royals disappeared they weren’t just written off. The search should have lasted at least a few months, not a few hours. How had no one ever questioned this?

No word that there were ever any questions from the nobles about the disappearance. The commoners had been told very little and probably had next to no information. They had probably assumed that since there were two funerals, that both bodies had been found.

“Where did he go?” Hakoda heard, looking up to find Tikor scowling.

“It shouldn’t be this easy to lose him,” He sighed, reaching up to rub at his face.

“Would he have run?” Bato asked, glancing at him.

“To where?” Hakoda asked, “We’re in Earth Kingdom territory.”

Tikor glared, starting to walk off. Hakoda didn’t know where the boy had gone. He had a habit of doing that. Eventually, Hakoda saw Tikor pause and glare up a tree.

“You weren’t in the right condition to be climbing a mast and you  _ certainly _ aren’t in the condition to be climbing trees!” The healer sounded so angry that Hakoda wondered how Zuko would react.

Hakoda twisted to find Zuko’s gaze focused on the healer for a moment before he quickly started to make his way down the tree. He’d gotten up there after he’d done everything he could to help with the camp. He seemed to like that, making his way to the highest point he could and then just… staying up there.

The boy stood up straight when he got down, looking at Tikor with perfect calm. There was no waver in his expression, but there was something in the way he held himself that reminded Hakoda yet again of what he’d found out. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment as he reminded himself that there was nothing for the boy to fear while he was with Hakoda and his men.

He looked at Tikor and Zuko again, seeing that the man was scolding him and taking him to the tent to replace his bandages again most likely.

Hakoda looked back at the papers in front of him when his eyes caught the light of the fire. It brought his mind back to the boy sitting on the deck of the ship and the flames suddenly going still and then starting to rise and fall in a perfectly calm pattern. Identical to Zuko’s breathing pattern.

It was the first sign of firebending that the boy had shown. It wasn’t flashy or large, but it was unmistakable.

\----------

Over the next few days, Zuko continued to help the men and somehow became even  _ quieter _ as he seemed to get back into shape. Which was kind of unnerving.

The idea that the kid had been out of shape when he’d been doing all the things he had done was unnerving. He was somehow more impressive than he should be, which made Hakoda heave a sigh.

“You know, you worry too much,” One of the younger warriors said, grinning a little bit.

“I worry because we’re in the middle of a war,” He said, but he smiled a little bit.

“Yeah well, the kid is nothing if not accommodating and helpful,” He heard, turning to look at where the boy was.

Zuko was currently walking along the branches of a tree. Very thin branches in Hakoda’s opinion. He never wavered though, each step careful and measured. It was impressive.

He sighed, slowly relaxing as he watched the boy go down the trees slowly. He had a meeting to start in a few minutes, but knowing that the other wasn’t going to be in a tree - or at least  _ high _ in a tree - during the meeting.

~~~~~~~~~~

When he made his way into the camp Sokka saw pretty much exactly what he was expecting. The warriors that his father had left with, the boats, the tents, everything. It was great to see.

What he didn’t expect to see what a much shorter figure suddenly darts through the camp. He barely caught sight of pale skin and black hair for a moment before it was out of sight again. Tikor poked his head out of a tent, scowling.

“Come here! You’re not in the condition to be running off!” He said and Sokka heard laughter.

“Tikor, leave the kid alone, you weren’t able to stop him before, you won’t stop him now,” Another warrior snorted.

Sokka watched the other teen suddenly reappear, looking at Tikor. Then the other looked at him and he had so many questions. He was wearing prison clothes of some sort, but his eyes were  _ gold _ . No one seemed worried though so he could… go ask his dad what was happening.

Sokka pushed down the idle thought that the boy was really pretty.

He was sure he’d seen those eyes before though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, considering not shipping in this: I can do it.  
> Me, introducing Sokka: ... bi disaster.
> 
> The odds that we end up with Zukka is high.


End file.
